SAN JOSE, California. – Local housing associations are looking to change their strategy after the Bay Area’s $20 billion affordable housing program was removed from the November ballot, just as the median home price in San Jose hit $2 million.

“You may have to settle for something you don’t quite like but can afford,” says Deepa Kurseja, who recently became a homeowner in the Bay Area.

Some Bay Area homebuyers say it’s even harder to buy a home now as interest rates and home prices continue to rise. Girish Nagasandra says he wants to buy a home but thought prices in the Bay Area would drop, especially after the pandemic.

“Prices have gone up right before my eyes. So, I don’t know, I’ll probably wait another six months to a year and then call,” Nagasandra said.

This week, the National Association of REALTORS reported that the median home price in San Jose is now above $2 million for the first time. Longtime Bay Area real estate agent Yogi Sharma of Realty One Group Future says well-paying tech jobs in Silicon Valley are playing a big role in home prices.

“There are some areas in San Jose that are more expensive than Los Angeles or San Francisco. San Jose is a big city, there are multiple zip codes. It’s Silicon Valley, right in the middle of things,” Sharma said.

Deepa Kurseja says she bought her first home in the Bay Area two years ago and says your first home doesn’t have to be your dream home.

“Start small. Maybe look for a smaller apartment, a townhouse. Maybe a condo that you can afford,” Kurseja said.

But local housing activists say most people still can’t afford to buy homes in the Bay Area, and they believe the housing crisis will only get worse now that the $20 billion Bay Area housing bill is off the table.

“We have a homelessness crisis in the Bay Area, and people who think we can solve that homelessness crisis without new, permanent, affordable housing simply don’t understand how the system works,” said Sandy Perry, vice president of the South Bay Community Land Trust.

Perry says advocates will now focus on changing the ballot requirements to make it easier to pass housing bonds by supporting Proposition 5 in November.

There is also good news for home buyers: interest rates have fallen to their lowest level since last year.